


Someone Borrowed/Someone Blue

by kerithwyn



Category: DCU (Comics), Legion of Super-Heroes (Comics)
Genre: Early Work, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-08-03
Updated: 1999-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-27 18:00:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2702111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kerithwyn/pseuds/kerithwyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set directly after Ultra Boy was accused of murder and then exonerated, in LSH 239. Mon-El comes to apologize to Jo for not believing in his innocence, and Jo wants more than "I'm sorry!" Original Legion continuity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Someone Borrowed (Jo's Version)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Dannell, my Lady Inspiration. Without her, this would never have been written.

With all that mess cleared up, things got back to normal. Well, as normal as the Legion gets, anyway.

What happened next, though...

Tinya says I have a real bad case of hero worship. Well, that's probably true. I mean,  _look_  at him! Mon-El, I mean. Lar Gand. He's everything I try to be. Everything I want to be. And he makes it all look so easy. Me, I struggle to find the right thing to do, to figure out how I'm going to handle things. Mon just  _does_  it. He doesn't have to think about his actions, and he doesn't sweat antimatter thinking he'll get it wrong. Oh, I know that it's not that simple. It never is. But he always has the courage to seize the initiative, while I never worked up the nerve to let him know how badly I wanted him.

Until he walked into my room, the day after I was cleared of the murder charge.

It was bad enough that most of the Legionnaires believed I was guilty of killing An. But when Mon came after me, trying to haul me in for questioning, it hurt worse than anything. Sure, I got away--a lucky break, if ever there was one--but it still stung.

He showed up at our suite when Tinya and Shady were out. What timing. "Jo. Can I come in?"

Turn the other cheek, Jo. And maybe he'll...oh, never mind. "Sure, Mon. What's up?"

He stepped into the room, instantly dominating the surroundings just by his sheer presence. "I came to apologize. I'm sorry, Jo. I should have known you'd never do anything like that."

His eyes were earnest, and so very blue.

"It's okay, Mon. You were only doing what you thought was right, and..."

He seized me and brought me in for a hug. A purely friendly one, more's the pity.

Look, I think I've done a pretty good job of keeping this thing in check, okay? It's kinda complicated, actually. For one thing, Mon-El is the best friend I ever had. And it's really not polite to seduce your best pal. Leads to all kinds of messy stuff. Plus, I didn't think Mon goes for other guys--at least, I've never seen him appear interested in another man. Now, I  _have_  seen other guys come on to him. Mon just smiles and slips away without hurting anybody's feelings.

I was thinking about all this while I was busy trying  _not_  to lean into Mon's chaste embrace and maybe rip his clothes off. But he was holding me fast, and I felt the strength that flowed through him like a live wire.

The hell with it.

I moved back far enough to look him dead in the eye. "Mon, you want to make it up to me?"

He'd started to let go. "Of course."

"Good." So I leaned up, and kissed him.

I would've stopped if he'd tried to pull away. But after a moment's hesitation, he leaned into me and I felt his tongue brush mine. Oh,  _man_. No  _way_  he was getting away now.

We came up for air. I was grinning like an idiot, I know. Mon was looking a little stunned. "But...what about Tinya?"

I knew Shady wouldn't have a problem with this; Talok's culture has different social mores, and sex between friends is just, well, friendly. As for Tinya--she's possessive and jealous and I love it. It's flattering as all hell to be  _her_  man. No other woman dares look my way for fear of having her eyes blackened so she can't look anymore.

But I had a blank check with Lar. Tinya knew how I felt, and had given me permission to go ahead. Once. If he was willing. "And then you'd better tell me all about it," she'd said with a grin. That was years ago, but I hadn't forgotten. And now was my chance.

"Not an issue. Trust me."

He looked at me, and then his expression changed from his usual noble countenance to the purest look of lust I've ever seen. "Oh, I  _do_. Jo." And then he was on me.

It's a good thing invulnerability is the default state of my ultra-powers. His mouth came down on mine with crushing force. He tasted like...open space and rich black earth. Deep, dark, and dangerous, you know? His hands were busy on my clothes, wrestling with the clasps, and mine were grasping at his back to feel the strength of him. We surged together, and I felt him hard against me. Wow.

Much more, and this was going to be over before it started. I tore my mouth away from his. "Mon--Lar--hold up a second."

" _What?_ " His voice was rough and wanting.

"I'd like--" and then I blushed. Way to go, Jo; you've finally got him where you want him--almost, anyway--and you're flustered like a schoolkid. "I want this to  _last_."

He took a deep breath. "Okay. Slow. Got it. But, uh, do you want..."

Heat rushed up my spine. "Lar, I want  _everything_. 'Cause we've only got this one time."

"Why--oh." He's a smart guy. "Special dispensation, right?"

"Yeah." I reached for the clasp of his cape, loosened it, watched the mass of blue fall to the floor. "I want you to know how long I've been wanting to do this."

He smiled. "I wish you'd let me know sooner." He twisted the toggle on his Legion ring that let the Mission Monitor Board know he'd out of touch, and I did the same to mine. Nothing short of a galactic emergency could disturb us now. "I really do care for you, Jo."

He pulled me in for another kiss, this one gentle. This time he was in no hurry. His hands gathered me in, tracing long elliptical patterns like orbiting comets across my back.

Time to get comfortable. I switched briefly to ultra-strength and tossed him across the room, onto the bed. He landed, laughed, and turned to watch me as I moved toward him, shedding my clothes on the way.

"Sooo..." I drawled, "now that I've got you, whatever will I do with you?"

He laced his hands together behind his head, and grinned. "Whatever you like."

Oh, my. "Off with the costume, then," I said softly. He sat up and peeled it off, his eyes on mine the whole time. Then he lay back down, hands again locked behind him.

We've been friends and teammates for a long time; I knew what he looked like naked. But this was different. Before, he hadn't been in my bed, waiting for me to--

Waiting. What the hell was I waiting for? I moved up the bed and molded my body against his, wanting to feel him.

"Thought you were getting cold feet for a second, there." His voice was lazy, relaxed.  _That_  had to change.

"Nah." I brought my lips down and bit his nipple, medium-hard. I thought he was going to hit the ceiling.

" _Oh_. Do that again!" I did, and he moaned. The sound went straight to my groin, and I wanted to hear more of it. I put my mouth up to his ear and whispered, "Don't move." I bit his earlobe lightly, then started moving down his body, using my tongue and teeth on whatever parts looked appealing. And there were a  _lot_  of those.

I took my time, and after a bit he was trembling under me but still trying not to move, like I'd told him. "Jo... _please..._ "

"What? Here?" I licked my way down his hip. He groaned. "Or here?" I bit at his inner thigh, and he drew in a sharp breath. "Or  _here_?" I brushed him with my tongue, just a touch, and his hips thrust off the bed toward me.

So very sensitive. That surprised me; invulnerability is his natural state, and I guess I'd thought more subtle sensations would be a problem for him. Obviously, no problem.

"Hold on, Lar." One of his hands came down to grasp mine as I took him into my mouth. He was velvet over steel, and warm as the sun. His hand clenched convulsively on mine, and he shouted out my name as he came.

I crawled back up to lie by him. His head was thrown back, one arm over his eyes, and he was breathing shallowly; for a minute, I got scared. "Lar? You okay?"

"Yes--just--just give me a minute." His breathing calmed, and he rolled over to take me in his arms. "It hits me like that, sometimes." He ran a hand down my side, and we lay quietly for a couple minutes, learning the feel of each other. Then he got this  _look_  in his eye. "My turn?"

When a guy like  _that_  asks you, you don't say no.

He flipped me onto my front, straddled me, and put his hands to my shoulders. His fingers dug into the muscles of my upper back, and soon I was melting under his touch. "Jo, do you have any--"

I waved toward the dresser next to the bed. "Lower drawer." Tinya's got a pretty extensive collection of massage oils; she loves to try out new things, and I'm more than happy to oblige her. He leaned over and opened a bottle, and the room filled with the odor of Winathian passionfruit, musky and sweet. I couldn't help but shiver when I realized he'd chosen an edible one.

As he started to work his way down my back, he said, "You'll have to forgive me if I'm a little out of practice. It's been a thousand years since I've done this."

Huh? "But Shady--"

He laughed. "Of course. I meant, with another man."

(It wasn't until much, much later that I realized exactly what that meant. That "thousand years" was the literal truth. He'd traveled a long time to reach Earth, and was only there for a short time before the lead poisoning kicked in and he had to enter the Phantom Zone. And the only person he'd had much contact with then was...well,  _you_  figure it out.)

Genius that I am, I said, "Oh." Then, "What do you--I mean, whatever you want is fine with me."

His voice was quiet, but I could hear the smile in it. "I'd like to learn what you taste like. Slowly. And then I want to feel you in me. How does that sound, Jo?"

That was about the point my brain stopped functioning altogether. I think I moaned.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." His mouth came down on the small of my back and started to travel. I honestly don't remember all of the details, because by that time I was pretty incoherent. The man has a  _talented_  tongue, and he used it everywhere--and I do mean  _everywhere._  I felt like the main course at a diplomatic banquet, or maybe dessert—the kind you linger over because it's so good you can't stand to finish it, so you nibble and lick at it for as long as you can.

Somewhere during that he'd turned me over again, which I was really grateful for, because it was getting a little, uh, uncomfortable. His mouth was on me and I was  _this_  close when he pulled away. I must've made some kind of disappointed noise, because Lar stretched himself out full length over me, his body balanced on mine.

He kissed me, long and deep, and that was nearly enough again to send me over the edge. Still kissing, he rolled us over and brought his legs up, and before I knew it I was sinking into him and oh, it was beyond good and I was looking into his face filled with ecstasy and I moved with him as he cried out and I cried out and he tightened around me and we came together, and I collapsed onto his chest as his arms came up to hold me and we trembled together with the aftershocks.

It was awhile before I was able to talk, and he seemed content to stay as we were. I traced the lines of his face with my fingers, enjoying the chance to  _touch_  him like this. He seemed utterly relaxed, and I was glad to see it; too often, Mon-El looks like he's carrying the weight of the universe on his shoulders.

I probably wouldn't have noticed it another time, but as we lay there I saw a shadow pass over his face, like he was thinking about something unpleasant. I was about to ask him what it was when he shook his head, picked us both up, tossed me over his shoulder, and headed for the bathroom. Hey, if he wanted to show off his strength, that was fine. And besides, I had a great view of his backside from there.

He started the shower and we spent quite a while, just touching under the spray. It was like...well, like we were trying to memorize the feel of each other, to remember what this was like. That's how  _I_  felt, anyway. But I wasn't ready for him to leave yet, and I was trying to think of a way to say it when Lar murmured into my ear, "So what else have you been wanting to do, Jo?"

Just a question, but it ran straight down every nerve and set them all on fire. I pushed him against the wall of the shower and kissed him roughly, my body hard up against his. We tumbled out of the shower and across the bedroom floor, wrestling to be on top. I was laughing, Lar was grinning, and it felt  _wonderful_.

And the rest of it was wonderful too, all afternoon, when we made love in the air, and when he slid into me gently, and when he kissed me with a tenderness so sweet I thought my heart would break.

At the end, there was just one more thing to say. "Hey, Lar?" "Hmmmm?" A drowsy tone. I'd exhausted an invulnerable Daxamite. Wow.

"Apology accepted."

##############

And now, gentle reader, your author presents you a choice of the last scene, dependent upon your temperament and desire: Ending 1, the happy conclusion; or Ending 2, the angst-ridden finale. Or, perhaps being of divided mind, you choose to read both; I leave it in your hands.

##############

_Ending 1_

I was lying on the bed, reading a holozine, when Tinya took a flying leap onto my chest. "Oof! Hey, you puttin' on weight?"

She pinched me. In a delicate place. "So?"

"So, what?"

"So, how was it? C'mon, Jo...!"

I put aside the holozine and kissed her. "You really wanna know?" "Yes!" Her eyes gleamed. "Was it hot? What's he like? C'mon, Shady doesn't tell me  _anything_!"

I laughed. "That's what I love about you. You're shameless."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell me, and..." her hand wandered down, "you'll get something nice."

"Mmmm. An offer I can't refuse."

So I told her. And let me tell you, she was  _very_  appreciative.

I'd wanted Mon for a long time, but the truth is, Tinya is just about all I can handle, ultra-power or not. I'd learned a few things about myself, though.

"So then he did  _this_ , right?" she asked, impishly.

I gasped, moaned, and felt my toes start to curl. Yeah, I sure did learn a few things.

So did Tinya.

##############

_Ending 2_

I was lying on the bed, reading a holozine, when Tinya took a flying leap onto my chest. "Oof! Hey, you puttin' on weight?" She pinched me. In a delicate place. "So?"

"So, what?"

"So, how was it? C'mon, Jo...!"

I put aside the holozine and moved her off me. "It was...fine. That's all. Nothing to talk about."

She pouted. "Nothing? What, no details?"

I had to leave. "Nah. I'm going down to the gym for awhile. See you later."

So I went to the gym, and ran about a thousand laps, and it didn't erase the memory of his eyes in the heat of passion, or his weight as he covered me, or the sheer power that arced from his body into mine.

I love Tinya. I do. With all my heart.

But Lar Gand has stolen my soul.


	2. Someone Blue (Lar's Version)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lar's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Dannell, She Who Channels Mon-El and tells me that he approves. *whew*.

What do you do the day after you've betrayed your best friend?

If you're Lar Gand, you brood. I do that well, I'm told.

Even my lady-love Tasmia, who shows me infinite patience even at my worst, had enough this time. I'd been bemoaning my own faithlessness and lack of trust in Jo. No, of  _course_  he hadn't murdered An Ryd, but I was all too willing to capture him for the crime anyway, as if his friendship and heroism all these years meant nothing. I didn't  _deserve_  his friendship after that. I didn't know how to apologize; surely, no poor words of mine could make up for this betrayal--

"Mon!"

Her tone stopped me. "Uh..."

"Have you  _tried_  to apologize?" Only Shady gets that mixture of tolerance, annoyance, and amusement into a couple of words, and it usually sets me right.

"Well...no."

She sighed. "How about you try, before you decide that he hates you forever, hmmm? Tinya and I are going out for the day.  _You_  should go talk to him. You know Jo--I bet he already understands you were only trying to do what you thought best."

Guilt. I'm good at that, too. "Well, obviously, I didn't."

She rolled her eyes. "One thing at a time. Let him forgive you, Lar, and then you can work on forgiving yourself." She kissed me goodbye and left.

I knew she was right; she usually is. I dithered around our quarters for awhile, trying to figure out how to make my apology. Then I heard Shady in the back of my head say, "Just go, already!" and I headed over to his and Tinya's rooms before I could figure out how to depress myself any further.

I knocked, and he answered. "Jo. Can I come in?"

"Sure, Mon. What's up?" No resentment, no anger. I've never met anyone with as big a heart.

I stepped into the room, took a deep breath, and said, "I came to apologize. I'm sorry, Jo. I should have known you'd never do anything like that."

His eyes were clear and guileless as he said, "It's okay, Mon. You were only doing what you thought was right, and..."

I couldn't stand it. I grabbed him and hugged him, hard. He means so  _much_  to me as a friend, and I didn't have the words to express how sorry I was for not believing in him.

I heard his breath catch, but didn't think anything of it. After a moment, he moved back a bit and looked me in the eye. "Mon, you want to make it up to me?"

What a question. "Of course!"

"Good." And he leaned up, and kissed me.

Oh.

My.

Every neuron in my brain stopped firing, all at once, and every nerve in my body lit up. I didn't  _know_  Jo felt this way, would never have said or done anything to make him uncomfortable. "Lar Gand, you're an idiot," I told myself--not for the first time, or the last--and kissed him back.

I wasn't about to turn down this gift, his offering of himself in friendship and maybe even love. There haven't been that many women in my life, and before this, only one man. On Daxam, my brother Del was the handsome one; he got all the girls. I had a habit of falling madly in love with his girlfriends. That was long before Shady, of course, and a thousand years had passed for me in the Phantom Zone before I again felt the touch of another's hand on mine. Or anywhere else, for that matter. Only Tasmia had touched me since I was set free, and she knew how desperately I needed to feel that touch, the simple fact of warm flesh after a thousand years of emptiness in the Zone.

Shady would cheer this, I could hear her already. Talok's society is matriarchal, and her women make the rules. They are, as Tasmia puts it, eminently more practical about such matters than men. She would understand that whatever passed between Jo and myself had no bearing on my love for her, and changed nothing. But she wasn't the only one involved here.

We broke the kiss at the same time, gasping. Jo was grinning, a beautiful smile. I was still trying to process the whole thing, and had to ask, "But...what about Tinya?"

He had a  _very_  satisfied look on his face. "Not an issue. Trust me."

Trust. That's what it came down to, wasn't it? I hadn't trusted him enough to believe that he wasn't a murderer, and  _he_  trusted me enough to put our friendship on the line by kissing me when I might not have accepted it. The familiar refrain of, "Lar Gand, idiot" started up again in my head, but this time I wasn't in the mood to listen. I wanted to feel that touch again.

"Oh, I  _do_. Jo." I grabbed him, trusting his invulnerability to protect him from bruising, and pulled him against me. I was trying to get his clothes off without tearing them--Shady's lost more outfits that way than I can count. His hands were flat on my back, pulling me even closer. Strength to strength--this felt so  _good_ \--

Suddenly he pulled his mouth away. "Mon--Lar--hold up a second."

 _Now_  he wanted to wait? " _What_?" My voice was rough and impatient. To have the promise of a touch, and then to have to wait--

You'd think after a thousand years, I'd have learned something about waiting gracefully.

He said, "I'd like--" and then he blushed. "I want this to  _last_."

That refrain: "Idio--" No. Shut up. I breathed in, breathed out impatience, and thought about this gift I was _not_  going to ruin with foolish haste. I needed to know what  _he_  expected. "Okay. Slow. Got it. But, uh, do you want..."

"Lar, I want  _everything_. 'Cause we've only got this one time."

"Why--oh." Of course. Tinya'd probably given him the okay for a one-time thing, to "get it out of his system," or something similar. Well, I wasn't about to insult her indulgence by refusing. "Special dispensation, right?"

"Yeah." He reached for the clasp of my cape and watched it fall to the floor. "I want you to know how long I've been wanting to do this."

Not as long as me, Jo, I can tell you that. I just smiled and said, "I wish you'd let me know sooner." I couldn't stand the thought of being disturbed, so I sent the Monitor Board the signal for privacy and was glad to see him do the same. "I really do care for you, Jo."

I kissed him again, gently and thoroughly. 'Everything', huh? Oh, I  _hoped_  he meant it. Meanwhile, he deserved my full attention, and my best attitude. I'm prone to chronic depression, but it was banished for the day; this was  _not_  the time.

I felt his muscles tighten and then suddenly I was flying across the room, not under my own power. I landed on the bed and laughed, then stopped laughing as he moved toward me and dropped his clothes. My mouth went dry as I looked at him, strong and perfect, and I wanted to touch him so  _badly_.

"Sooo..." he drawled, "now that I've got you, whatever will I do with you?"

Anything. Please. He wanted to play; I could oblige. I placed my hands behind my head, and said, "Whatever you like."

The right answer, obviously. He asked me to undress and I did, watching his face, wanting to remember every nuance of friendship and caring and good, honest lust mirrored there.

He stood and looked at me for a long moment, and I was afraid that he might change his mind. Powers and spirits, Jo, don't--

I needn't have worried. He lay down next to me, warm skin against mine. Teasing, I said, "Thought you were getting cold feet for a second, there."

In response he bit my nipple in  _just_  the right way, and soon he was moving down my body with his tongue and teeth, and it was so good...I couldn't...

Sex makes me incoherent. Shady finds this very amusing: Mon-El, Daxamite hero and commonly regarded as the most powerful Legionnaire (I believe Element Lad deserves the title moreso than I, but that's neither here nor there), completely undone by a touch. Perhaps it's simply my body's reaction to stimulus after a thousand years of deprivation, or perhaps it's something else entirely. There's a  _reason_  we're more reserved publicly than some of the other Legion couples; it simply would not do to have Mon-El melt and moan in front of the others.

As I was doing, under Jo's mouth. And then his lips were warm around me and his tongue danced and the world exploded in a bright flash that took me to pieces as I cried out and then fell into darkness, for just a moment.

The first time we were together, I scared Tasmia half to death when I fell over her in nearly a dead faint. Afterward she laughed and looked smug, and swore to see how many times she could reduce me to that state. Truthfully? We've lost count.

I muttered something reassuring to Jo--he was looking a bit nervous himself--and got myself under control. Then it was my turn, and I set out to show him just how much I appreciated his friendship and this opportunity to express it. I knew exactly what I wanted, and Jo seemed...pleased...when I told him. To feel his strength in me, to lose myself in him--to  _not_  be Mon-El for even a moment, but just Lar. To lose control.

Which is something I  _cannot_  do with Tasmia. No matter how satisfying our lovemaking, I can never forget my strength with her. I would not hurt her, for all the worlds. Jo's power would protect him.

But first...first, what I needed. Have you ever been  _hungry_? I mean really hungry, as if you were dying? That's how I felt about Jo, right then and there. Looking down at him, he smiled at me and I was completely lost. Starving. When I touched him it made me dizzy. So when we were ready I pulled him over me and then into me, and he began to move and the world disappeared in a brilliant haze of pleasure.

Of course, afterward my treacherous thoughts tried to pull me out of the calm and into a post-coital depression of the worst sort—the kind where I start to wonder if I truly deserve what I've been granted, or if my partner could possible understand what it meant to me, or (in this case) what it  _all_  meant. Just sex? Or something deeper?

No. Not this time. I grabbed Jo up and took him into the shower, letting my incipient emotional trauma flow down the drain. I touched him, memorizing the feel of his body. I would not jeopardize his relationship with Tinya, would never ask for this again unless it was all right with both of them. But I would have a shining memory and the fact of his friendship, and that would be enough. Later, that would have to be enough.

We still had an afternoon, and we made good use of it.

  
 _Epilogue_

"Well?" she asked.

"I apologized."

"Good!"

"Tasmia--we--I mean, Jo and I, we--" Silly to get tongue-tied  _now_ , but...

"What? You....Oh!" Her eyes got wide, and she sat down. Collapsed, really. "You didn't."

"We did." Now I was grinning at her reaction.

She started to giggle.

No, really. My self-possessed Shadow Lass,  _giggling_  on the floor like a schoolgirl. I went over and held her as we laughed together, and I don't think I've ever loved her more.

"Oh...Lar..." she gasped. "Oh, my goodness. Tell me...oh, you have to tell me  _everything_."

"Shady! I didn't know you found Jo so exciting!"

"Oh, Lar." She took my face in her hands and kissed me, deeply. "Not him.  _You_. Shades of Talok, what a picture!" She got a faraway look in her eye, and I knew  _exactly_  what she was seeing. She chuckled again. "That must have been  _some_  apology!"

"It was...more that that."

She smiled. "I'm not surprised. He really cares for you. And I know you love him."

Tasmia always knows my heart. "I do. But never more than you, my love."

"Mmmmm! You're such a romantic." She snuggled into my arms and looked up at me, smiling.

Jo is my friend--and for one day, something more; but my soul rests in her.

**Author's Note:**

> Note to non-Legion readers: "And the only person he'd had much contact with then was..." Superboy, of course. Kal-El, the last son of Krypton, who was very glad to meet another invulnerable body he could touch without fear of harm.


End file.
